Deliberate Lies of Nekrasov’s Anti-Magnitsky Film Exposed in a New 50-page Presentation by Magnitsky Justice Campaign

June 13, 2016

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate distribution

Deliberate Lies of Nekrasov’s Anti-Magnitsky Film Exposed in a New 50-page Presentation by Magnitsky Justice Campaign

13 June 2016 – Today, in advance of a private screening at Newseum in Washington of an anti-Magnitsky film directed by Russian filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov, the Magnitsky Justice Campaign has released a 50-page presentation exposing the film’s deliberate misrepresentations. The presentation contains links to 25 documents exposing the lies of the film.

“Andrei Nekrasov’s movie is a complete fabrication. He promotes the Russian government’s false version of events. He claims Sergei Magnitsky died of natural causes and did not testify against Russian police officers. Both claims are contradicted by official documents which show evidence of Magnitsky’s beating in police custody in the last hours of his life, and the text of the testimony by Magnitsky before his arrest, in which he names the corrupt Russian police officers 27 times,” said William Browder, leader of the global Magnitsky Justice movement.

Nekrasov’s film tries to present the storyline that the Russian government was the victim in the whole affair instead of the murdered Sergei Magnitsky.

“This film is a shameless attempt to export the Russian government’s propaganda to the West. In Russia, corrupt officials and criminals exposed by Sergei Magnitsky enjoy impunity and now they are trying to use a purportedly independent filmmaker to avoid accountability in the West,” said William Browder.

To prepare his film, Andrei Nekrasov worked with some of the Russian perpetrators and beneficiaries of the US$230 million fraud exposed by Sergei Magnitsky. The same persons are involved in the film’s promotion in Europe and in the USA. In particular, the film is promoted by agents of Denis Katsyv, the son of the Russian official, whose assets have been frozen by the US and Swiss courts because of alleged involvement in money laundering of proceeds of the fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.

“The purpose of Andrei Nekrasov’s film is to absolve corrupt Russian officials and individuals who were involved in and benefited from the US$230 million fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky. Some of them have been part of the film’s preparation and promotion,” said William Browder.

In his film, Andrei Nekrasov falsely claims that Magnitsky did not uncover the US$230 million corrupt scheme and instead was its perpetrator. This claim is contradicted by law enforcement investigations in 11 countries who have traced proceeds of the US$230 million crime to assets of Russian government officials and their relatives, including real estate in the US, Dubai and Swiss bank accounts. In particular, funds were received on a Swiss account of Vladlen Stepanov, husband of Russian tax official Olga Stepanova who approved a portion of the fraudulent US$230 million tax refund, and paid for properties for two of Stepanova’s deputies in the Russian Tax Office No 28 which approved the fraudulent tax refund.

The Panama Papers have also connected proceeds of the US$230 million fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, to a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sergei Roldugin, who received funds on his corporate Swiss account.

The Council of Europe has exposed the falsity of Nekrasov’s claim that the Council of Europe’s investigation relied only on documents from William Browder, stating the Council of Europe examined all documents, including those received directly from the Russian government.

Sergei Magnitsky, Hermitage’s lawyer who uncovered the US$230 million fraud and testified about the complicity of Russian officials in it, was falsely arrested, detained for 358 days without trial, tortured and killed in Russian police custody at the age of 37. The events of this case are described in the New-York Times best-seller “Red Notice” by William Browder and in a series of campaign videos on Youtube channel “Russian Untouchables.”